Several years experience running traplines for fur and doing nuisance wildlife control led me to the conclusion that wild animals shouldn't be kept as pets... 98/100 times it ends badly and the animal pays the price. Free or dead.
Having said that...
There is absolutely no excuse or rationale behind mobilizing a group of jackbooted fucks cause some goober has a pet squirrel and coon... That's like dropping a hydrogen bomb on someone for littering.
Is Peanut the Squirrel a hill I would be willing to die on? At this point in the decline of the republic... it's as good of a reason as any.
Mike